April's Fools Day food

Here's an April Fool's dinner I made in 2005:

I served the dinner first(but it was really dessert):

The meatloaf is Marshmallow Treats made with Cocoa Krispies and some cut up Twizzlers in it to look like pimentos. (click on photo to see how realistic it looks up close)

The mashed potatoes are vanilla icecream with carmel sauce. (I froze these separately on a cookie sheet, and put them on the plate at the last minute.)

The carrots are carrot-shaped bubble gum.

The drink is red Jello with a straw in it. Some of my family really tried to drink it, they assumed it was liquid.

Then I served the dessert (but it was really the main dish):

I made a lovely trifle with what looked like frosting on top. It was actually a 7-layer salad with mayonnaise on top.

(This was my one and only time to do a great April Fool's dinner, don't think I do it all the time.)

Fire Extinguisher Care

I was worried that my fire extinguishers were too old so I called the fire department to see if they would inspect them. The fireman said they don't inspect fire extinguishers, but he said to just look at the dial and see if the arrow pointed to the green area that says "Full". He said once it is discharged it has to be serviced.



He also said that the powder inside can get crusty on top from settling. Here's what to do to prevent that: Every six months or so, turn it upside side down and back again. Rock it back and forth, you should be able to feel the powder pouring back and forth inside. If not, knock on it with a rubber mallet to loosen up the powder.

"Birthday Boat" paper

Using this paper for birthdays has become one of those silly traditions that every family has. Not on purpose, they just happen.

About 15 years ago, I saw this huge roll of wrapping paper at the Dorcas Shop (a thrift shop in Cary), and bought it for $3. The massive roll was at least 8 inches thick, and so heavy I could hardly carry it.

It is the dumbest looking paper in the world, but we have used it for birthdays for all these years. Now the roll is only about 2 inches thick, but still quite heavy; we have plenty to last us through our grandchildren's lives.

"Happy Inside" quilt

I want to tell you the story of how I made this quilt, "Happy Inside" (2004, 18"x22"). I had several leftover quilt blocks that looked like the one below: white backgrounds with pastel green, blue, yellow, and turquoise baskets. I thought they were boring so I hand-dyed them. I also hand-dyed all the lace that is on the quilt.





















(right)This is how I put the five blocks together, and I cut off the outer edges.













You can see in the photo (Below) that my piecing was bad, so the basket's corners were all uneven and the points were not "pointy". To cover the points up, I added a bunch of lace and trims. It turned out to be one of my favorite little quilts.

The Standard of Truth

Good news! We just found out our assignments for the Hill Cumorah cast (we will be there in July.) (Note: When we were in the cast in 2003 and 2005, Wayne and I were "cast team leaders" over the 11 year old boys, then the 13 year old boys. That meant we were similar to Young Men leaders, scout leaders, seminary teachers, Youth Conference leaders, and EFY leaders all rolled into one, for 17 days.) Our assignment for 2009: We are over a group of ADULTS! Hallelujah! This will be much easier. I think we will just send emails out to our cast team members, and assign each adult to be in charge of the activities for our group for one day each. This will be a breeze. Naps, anyone?

Also, if you know Dorothy and Kelly Tucker, we found out they will be in the Cumorah cast this summer also.

The Standard of TruthWayne, Tara, Zac and I have little pieces of paper printed with the following paragraph taped up all over our house so we can memorize it again. It is called "The Standard of Truth", and while we are in the cast of the Hill Cumorah Pageant in July we will be reciting it at the beginning of every devotional (we have 2-3 devotionals a day there). We memorized it in 2003 and in 2005, when we were in the cast before, but we have forgotten it. (Except for Tara, she still knows it by heart.)

“…Our missionaries are going forth to different nations,…..the standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing: persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Volume IV, Page 540

Church Art Competition

The 8th International Art competition of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has now opened, and you can see it online by clicking HERE.

If you click the tab for "O-P", you can see my favorite piece. It is by Richard Passey, "4,000 Years: Book of Mormon Insights". It is an amazing tooled-leather POP-UP BOOK, can you even imagine making one of those? There are three different photos of it that you can click on.

I didn't look at the whole exhibit, but I looked at some of it, and there are several beautiful quilts in there.

Dumb idiot me, I had a quilt almost ready to enter but didn't get it done in time for the deadline. Oh well.

I had a quilt accepted in 2000, "Book of Mormon Stories", which you can see on my blog if you go back to my posts from Jan. 7-11, 2009. (To go backwards, click on "Older Posts" at bottom of the screen.)

Joseph and Emma's House

The full title should be "Joseph and Emma's House: The Rest of the Story."

In Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class this year, we are studying the Doctrine and Covenants. I learned the most interesting stories about D&C 51 through D&C 64 while listening to a show on BYU-TV a few months ago. Pay close attention to the dates in the following story, and try to understand all the things that were going on in Joseph Smith's personal life while he was receiving these revelations.

In March 1831 the Prophet Joseph asked the Lord how the Church should acquire lands for the settlement of the Saints moving into the Kirtland, Ohio area. (D&C 48, including heading) The Lord tells them that the land in Ohio is consecrated unto them "for a little season, until I, the Lord, shall provide for them otherwise, and command them to go hence" (D&C 51:16). The Saints in Seneca County were assigned to live on the Isaac Morley farm, where they erected log cabins and planted crops.

Joseph and Sidney Rigdon diligently continued their work translating the Bible almost daily throughout the spring in a small house constructed for Joseph and Emma on Isaac Morley's farm.

At this time Emma went into labor...On April 30 1831 she delivered twins, but they only lived three hours. She and Joseph subsequently adopted twins born on May 1, whose mother had died.

On June 7, 1831, after the end of a conference in Kirtland, the following was revealed:

"Let my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon take their journey as soon as preparations can be made to leave their homes and journey to the land of Missouri." (D&C 52:3).

This was a 1000 mile journey, and they started on the trip only twelve days later on June 19, 1831. Joseph Smith and others travelled to Missouri, where on July 20, 1831 it was revealed that Independence, Missouri was the promised city of Zion. (D&C 57:1,3)

Joseph was commanded

"that the land should be purchased by the saints, and also every tract lying westward...inasmuch as my disciples are enabled to buy lands...buy lands in all the regions round about, inasmuch as can be done in righteousness, and as wisdom shall direct." (D&C 57:4-6)

In 1831 whole sections of the undeveloped country of Missouri could be purchased for $1.25 per acre. The Lord directed the brethren to purchase as much land as they were able (see D&C 58:37, 58:52; 63:27)

They arrived back in Kirtland on August 27, 1831, and soon after, the Prophet inquired of the Lord for further information about the gathering of the Saints and the purchase of the land of Zion. (heading Sect. 63) Joseph was wondering where they would get the money to buy all that land in Missouri. I can only imagine Joseph's shock when the Lord commanded him to sell the Isaac Morley farm (which contained Joseph's and Emma's brand new house) and use that money to buy the Missouri land. (D&C 63:38-40)

And then the Lord states the obvious,

"Let my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, seek them a home..." D&C 63:65.

I wonder how Joseph felt when he had to tell Emma about their upcoming move.

Section 64 was given on Sept. 11, 1931. The section heading says "The Prophet was preparing to move to Hiram, Ohio...at this busy time, the revelation was received." They had only arrived in Kirtland from Missouri on Aug. 27, were told to sell the land "in late August", and only two weeks later (Sept. 1831) moved in with the John Johnson family for about six months.

Now when you see the verses written during this time of the Prophet's life, and know that he has recently lost two babies, gone on a very long journey, and had to move out of their brand new home, these verses have so many deeper meanings.

D&C 58:4 For after much tribulation come the blessings.
D&C 63:20 He that endureth in faith and doeth my will, the same shall overcome...
D&C 63:47 He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world.
D&C 64:22 I, the Lord, require the hearts of the children of men.
D&C 64:34 The Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind...

It seems reasonable that after these great sacrifices, Joseph was more worthy to receive the Visions of the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial kingdoms (D&C 76), which he received while living at the Johnson's farm Feb. 16, 1832.

Sources: Church History in the Fulness of Times, Religion 341-343 Institute manual p. 99, 100, 103, 106 , 107,113 and Doctrine and Covenants.

I'm Grammy, He's Pappy

Isaac's and Rachel's children call me "Grammy" and Wayne "Pappy". We got to take Elizabeth (2 1/2) and Thomas (9 mos) to the park last week. We chased Elizabeth all over while she threw sticks and pinecones into the pond (the geese gave up pretty quickly when they realized it wasn't bread).


Thomas just crawls around, so I sat him down on this bridge, and he, of course, had to chew on it. When he wasn't chewing on the bridge, he was chewing on sticks and pine straw. Or being held by one grandparent while the other was helping Elizabeth not fall in the water. We got tired!!!









Elizabeth was running too fast for us to ever get a cute shot of her, so here's a photo of her from a couple of weeks ago when she got a new haircut.

ProLife and Proud of it

I have been ProLife ever since I found out what the word "abortion" meant. I have handed out phamphlets and written to my congressmen and presidents. Around 1995 or 1996 when the Freedom of Choice Act was just being proposed, I gave out flyers and did everything I could to defeat it. Thankfully it was defeated.

Now it is one of President Obama's stated goals to pass this once-defeated bill. It will overturn virtually every single bill in every state which puts limits on obtaining abortions. The ban on Partial Birth Abortions will also be overturned.

I know its not much, but I just received an email about a movement to mail thousands or millions of red envelopes to Pres. Obama, to show our outrage over his plans to pass the Freedom of Choice Act. If you are interested, read the email below.

All you people who are ProLife. Here is something we can do on March 31 to make our voices heard.

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos - or at party supply stores.

On the front - address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back - write the following message: This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because - the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.

We will mail the envelopes on March 31st, 2009.

Forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes - one for every child who died [in the U..S. ] before having a chance to live.

It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in a minority. It may seem like we have no voice and it is shameful to even bring it up. Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard.

Barack Obama spoke at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event, uttering the now infamous line, "Well, the first thing I would do as president is - is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. [Applause.] That is the first thing that I would do."

An empty red envelope will send a message to President Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue [The Freedom of Choice Act, which will essentially undo every law currently in place to limit abortion in the U.S. .. (i.e., parental consent laws, parental notification, waiting periods, prohibition of transporting a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion, etc.)]. It is a quiet - but clear - message of protest.

ALL life is precious and Sacred. I am getting my red envelopes ready. How about you?

To read more about the Freedom of Choice Act:

Freedom of Choice Act Would Mean 125K More Abortions

Obama's Statement on 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade


One Year Anniversary of Obama's FOCA Fest

Book Review, "The Great Influenza" #3

by John M. Barry, copyright 2004

(If you read this book and think he is a good author, you can read his other book "Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America". It was extremely interesting. Up to 1927, blacks were solidly Republican. After the debacle of the Republican's handling of that flood, they switched to the Democrat party.)

Well, I figure if you have hung in there after reading the past several posts, you are probably willing to read more. Here are more quotes from the book "The Great Influenza".

How have countries recently tried to stop new influenza pandemics?

p. 114 Influenza pandemics generally infect from 15-40 percent of a population....To prevent the 1997 Hong Kong virus (H5N1)...from adapting to people, 1.2 million chickens in Hong Kong were slaughtered.

p. 114. in 2003..when a new H7N7 virus appeared in Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, 30 million poultry and swine were slaughtered....to stop either of these influenza viruses from adapting to, and killing, man.

What are the common symptoms of normal influenza?

p. 232 common symptoms then as now: The mucosal membranes in the nose, pharynx, and throat become inflamed. The conjunctiva becomes inflamed. Victims suffer headaches, body aches, fever, often complete exhaustion, cough....Disease was ushered in by two groups of symptoms: in the first place the constitutional reactions of an acute febrile disease--headache, general aching, chills, fever, malaise, prostration, anorexia, nausea or vomiting; and in the second place, symptoms referable to an intense congestion of the mucous membranes of the nose, pharynx, trachea, and upper respiratory tract in general, and of the conjunctiva.

In the most deadly wave of influenza in the 1918-1919 pandemic, what were the symptoms?

p. 232-237, 240-241 Then there were the cases in which the virus struck with violence....Pain, agonizing pain in joints, subcutaneous emphysema (pockets of air accumulating just beneath the skin--from air leaking through ruptured lungs.) Extreme earaches, ear drums bursting. Renal failure. Cyanosis- people turned so black doctors couldn't tell white people from black people. Blood spurting from nose, mouth, ears, or around the eyes. In U.S. Army cantonments, from 5% to 15 % of all men hospitalized suffered from bleeding from the nose. There were many reports that blood sometimes spurted from the nose with enough power to travel several feet. Damage to brain, heart, kidneys. Muscles along the rib cage were torn apart both by internal toxic processes and by the external stress of coughing. Lungs ripped apart in a way suggestive of a particularly virulent form of bubonic plague called pneumonic plague


p. 242 Perfectly healthy people one minute, dying the next.
p. 247 Within fifteen minutes after influenza viruses invade the body, their hemagglutinin spikes began binding with the sialic-acid receptors on the (epithelial cells, which line the entire respiratory tract..all the way to the alveoli in the lungs)....Generally about ten hours after the virus invades a cell, the cell bursts open, releasing between 1,000 and 10,000 viruses capable of infecting other cells. ...1000 times 1000 times 1000 and so on---one can easily understand how a victim could feel perfectly healthy one moment and collapse the next...

Philadelphia and New York were affected by the worst wave of the pandemic. What happened there?

p. 328 Very likely half a million- possibly more--Philadelphians fell sick. On a single day of October 10, 1918, the epidemic alone in Philadelphia killed 759 people. Prior to the outbreak, deaths from ALL causes combined averaged 485 a week.

p. 332 During the week of Oct. 16, 1918 alone, 4,597 Phildelphians died from influenza or pneumonia, and influenza killed still more indirectly. That would be the worst week of the epidemic.

p. 333 In New York City at Presbyterian Hospital, each morning on rounds Dr. Dana Atchley was astounded, and frightened, to see that, for what seemed to him an eternity, every single patient--every one--in the critical section had died overnight.

p. 337 The mortality rate at Cook County hospital for all influenza cases--not just those who developed pneumonia--was 39.8%.

How successful are scientists today at making a vaccine?

p. 451-452 To make a vaccine, investigators have to aim at a moving target. Every year they try to predict which virus strains will dominate and the direction of the antigen shift. Then they design a vaccine...the real danger, though, is that it may not be possible to develop and distribute a vaccine in time to protect against a new virus. ...in 1997, developing this virus took more than a year.

How likely is it that we will have another influenza pandemic?

p. 449-450 Every expert on influenza agrees that the ability of the influenza virus to reassort genes means that another pandemic not only can happen, it almost certainly will happen...Influenza is among the most contagious of all diseases. The influenza virus can spread from person to person before any symptoms develop, before a victim knows he or she is sick.

If a new influenza virus does emerge, with modern travel it will likely spread even more rapidly than it did in 1918. In the US alone, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that a new pandemic would make between 40 and 100 million people sick.

p. 452 one could easily imagine a lethal virus--even one less virulent than that of 1918--killing tens of millions worldwide. No disease, including AIDS, poses the long term threat of a violent explosion that influenza does.

And on that pleasant note, I will end my book review of "The Great Influenza". Have a nice day!!


P.S. Also, I forgot to write this before. When I ordered the N95 masks, I asked the employee at Zefon International if there had been an increase in the number of masks being sold lately. She said yes, there definitely had been an increase but she didn't know why. I told her that I assumed its because people are starting to try to prepare for the pandemic.

My Mother's Birthday

I have the greatest mother ever. I could pick out a million photos to put on here, but I'll just choose a few.


Here is my mother with her older sister, June. They were living in New Mexico. My mom looks like a little Campbell Soup kid.


Here she is as a very thin sister missionary, in the Northern California mission. Thats a beautiful dress, too, I love the pleated details, and the ruffled gloves!


One of my best memories is when my mom, her four sisters, and I went to England and stayed with Wayne for a week while he was there working for IBM in 1997. Here we all are waiting to ride the train through the Chunnel.


This is a great memory from 2007. My mom got one of her timeshare condos for our spring break, and we stayed in New Bern, NC for a week. While we were there we sewed together. It was so fun to sew with my mom!

Book Review, "The Great Influenza" #2

by John M. Barry, copyright 2004.

Today I will continue what I started with yesterday's post, using quotes from this book to answer questions about the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. From this information, I think we can get more knowledge about the predicted upcoming bird flu pandemic. (These page numbers came from the hardbound copy of the book.)

How do scientists name the various strains of influenza virus?

p. 109 The chief antigens of the influenza virus are the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase protruding from its surface...those two parts mutate the fastest.

p. 111 Hemagglutinin occurs in 15 known shapes, neuraminidase in nine, and they occur in different combinations with subtypes. Virologists use these antigens to identify what particular virus they are discussing..."H1N1", for example, is the name given the 1918 virus...An "H3N2" virus is circulating among people today. (written in 2004). (The Reuters story in my post "Bird Flu Pandemic" lists today's strain as "H5N1".)

p. 115 The 1957 pandemic, "Asian Flu", was caused by H2N2. The 1968 pandemic, "Hong Kong Flu", H3N2, made many sick, but killed few.

The influenza virus is constantly mutating. What will be the results of that?

p. 110. "Antigen shift", these are the mutations that occur which change the virus to different forms.

p. 111 When antigen shift occurs, the immune system cannot recognize the antigen at all. Few people in the world will have antibodies that can protect them against this new virus, so the virus can spread through a population at an explosive rate...

Have there ever been influenza pandemics before or after the one in 1918-1919?

p. 113-114 There is no dispute, though, that other pandemics in the past were influenza. In 1688...influenza struck England, Ireland, and Virginia...as a plague...Five years later, influenza spread again across Europe...At least three and possibly six pandemics struck Europe in the eighteenth century, and at least four struck in the nineteenth century. In 1847 and 1848 in London, more people died from influenza than died of cholera during the great cholera epidemic of 1832. And in 1889 and 1890 a great worldwide ...pandemic struck again. In the twentieth century, three pandemics struck. Each was caused by an antigen shift...

How many people got sick in 1918-1919? How many people died?

p. 232 Generally in the Western world, the virus demonstrated extreme virulence or led to pneumonia in from 10-20 percent of all cases. In the United States, this translated into two or three million cases. In other parts of world, chiefly in isolated areas where people had rarely been exposed to influenza viruses...the virus demonstrated extreme virulence in far more than 20 percent of cases. These numbers most likely translate into several million severe cases around the world in a world with a population less than one-third that of today.

p. 363-364 In Chiapas, Mexico, 10% of the entire population died. In Guam, 5% of entire native population died. In Brazil, Rio de Janeiro suffered an attack rate of 33%. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the virus attacked nearly 55% of the population. In the Fiji Islands, 14% of the population would die in the sixteen days between Nov. 25 and Dec. 10, 1918. In the very few isolated locations around the world, where it was possible to impose a rigid quarantine, they were able to escape the disease entirely. American Samoa had not one single death from influenza. In Western Samoa, 22% of the population died. In the Indian subcontinent, it is likely that close to 20 million died.

(I will post more quotes from this book on March 22.)

Book Review "The Great Influenza", #1

by John M. Barry, copyright 2004

I just reread the most interesting book about the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. The frontispiece says

"In the winter of 1918...history's most lethal influenza virus was born. Over the next year it flourished, killing as many as 100 million people. It killed more people in twenty-four weeks than AIDS has killed in twenty-four years, more people in a year than the Black Death of the Middle Ages killed in a century. "

You might wonder what the 1918-1919 pandemic (which most people called the “Spanish Flu Pandemic”)has to do with the current worry about bird flu (or "avian flu"). Birds are natural carriers of influenza viruses. So scientists say the influenza viruses carried by birds today are constantly mutating, and can eventually become a more deadly strain.

Right now all cases have been passed directly from birds to humans which were in close contact with birds. The virus would have to mutate to be able to be passed from human to human. All influenza viruses mutate over time to become more virulent or less virulent. The 1918-1919 version was the deadliest ever recorded.

Here are some quotes from the book: (The page numbers are from the hardbound copy.)

How many died?

p. 238 During the course of the epidemic, 47% of all deaths in the United States resulted from influenza. (The other 53% were from all other causes: heart disease, stroke, tuberculosis, accidents, suicide, murder, etc.)...Investigators believe that in the United States the 1918-1919 epidemic caused an excess death toll of about 675,000 people. The population now is bigger, so a comparable figure today would be approximately 1,750,000 deaths.

Which age groups had the highest mortality rate?

p. 239-240 Normal influenza kills high numbers of infants and elderly. The graph of deaths would look like a U. In the 1918 pandemic, the single greatest number of deaths occurred in men and women aged 25-34. So with the infants and elderly added in, the graph looks like a W. And the most likely of the most likely to die were pregnant women, their death rate ranged from 23-71 %.

Illness during the pandemic came in three different waves. What were they?

p. 370 As it passed from person to person it adapted to its new host, became increasingly efficient in its ability to infect, and changed from the virus that caused a generally mild first wave of disease in the spring of 1918 to the lethal and explosive killer of the second wave in the fall....In a city or town, the cycle from first case to the end of a local epidemic in 1918 generally ran six to eight weeks. In the army camps, with the men packed so densely, the cycle took usually three to four weeks. Individual cases continued to occur after that, but the explosion of disease ended, and it ended abruptly. ...the virus burned through available fuel. Then it quickly faded away.

p. 373 By late November 1918...the virus had made its way around the world. The second wave was over, and the world was exhausted...But the virus, even as it lost some of its virulence, was not yet finished. Only weeks after the disease seemed to have dissipated...a third wave broke over the earth. ...the virus had mutated again...and rekindled the epidemic.

Why did so many people die so quickly?

p. 249, 250-251 Viral pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) explains why so many died in a few days after getting sick. The immune system followed the virus into the lungs and there waged war...the capillaries dilated, pouring out fluid, every kind of white blood cell, antibodies,...into the lung...even more fluid poured into the lung..The cells that line the alveoli were damaged, if they survived the virus itself....More blood flooded the lungs. The body started producing fiberlike connective tissue. Areas of the lung became enmeshed in cell debris, fibrin, collagen, and other materials. Proteins and fluid filled the space between cells. (p. 373 "water-logged lungs")

What killed the others?

p. 251, 257 Of those who did not die of ARDS, the majority died from bacterial pneumonias (normal bacteria from mouth is able to migrate down to lungs because influenza has damaged epithelial tissue in throat) .These were slower moving pneumonias caused by secondary invaders. Bacterial pneumonias developed a week, two weeks, three weeks after someone came down with influenza..Often influenza victims seemed to recover,...then suddenly collapsed again with bacterial pneumonia.

Might future pneumonia be resistant to antibiotics?

p. 252 studies found that almost half the autopsies in 1918-1919 showed ARDS (influenzal viral pneumonia). That means over half probably died of bacterial pneumonia. Since then bacterial resistance has become a major problem in medicine. Today the mortality rate for a bacterial pneumonia following influenza is still roughly 7%, and in some parts of the US, 35% of pneumococcal infections are resistant to the antibiotic of choice. When staphylococcus aureus (highly resistant to antibiotics) is the secondary invader, the death rate today rises to as high as 42%. That is higher than the general death rate from bacterial pneumonias in 1918.

How does influenza infect someone?

p. 256 Influenza is an airborne pathogen...when the virus floats in the air it can infect someone else for an hour to a day after it is exhaled (the lower the humidity, the longer it survives. The higher the humidity, the shorter it survives.) Most easily spread in crowds. Someone with influenza "sheds" the virus- can infect others- usually from the third to the sixth day after he is infected. Can catch it by inhaling it, or by hand-to-mouth-or-nose contact. The virus can remain infectious on a hard surface for up to two days.

I'll post more quotes from the book tomorrow.

Masks for Flu Pandemic

After studying the bird flu pandemic for months now, I finally bought a supply of N95 face masks. (Every article I read said to buy "N95" masks.) The cheapest price I found on the internet was from ZefonInternational. I was able to get 3M 8000 N95 Particulate Dust Masks, 30 per box for $9.85 ($0.38 each). (For comparison, Emergency Essentials is selling these for $12.99 for a box of 20, $.65 each.)

These have a metal bar that can be shaped across the bridge of the nose, and would be worn for short times and then discarded. (Note: Since I bought mine, the 3M 8000 Dust Masks have been repackaged as 3M 8200, which come 20 to a package for $8.75, which equals $0.437 each. So the prices are going up.)

I also bought the fancier ones, with the valve in front to help you breathe longer without moisture building up inside, and then discarded. Those were 3M 8511 N95 Particulate Respirators, 10 per box for $15.80 ($1.58 each).



Those were the ones I bought, March 2009. I can't tell you if they were the best for the job or not, just that they were the best prices I found when I searched the web.

More Information:

Why to store masks, who is storing masks, what kind of masks to buy.
"Pandemic--Face Masks"

How many you need, what sizes.
"Pandemic-N95 Face Masks and an update on the Peanut Butter Recall" written Jan. 1, 2009

The following quote is from the article "FDA Clears First Respirators for Use in Public Health Medical Emergencies"

"An N95 filtering facepiece respirator is a type of face mask that fits tightly over the nose and mouth. It is made of fibrous material that is designed to filter out at least 95 percent of very small airborne particles...

"While the exact nature and concentration of the biological agent or germ may not be known in a public health medical emergency, we believe that minimizing exposure will help reduce risk," said Daniel Schultz, M.D., director, FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "These respirators are only one part of a combination of approaches that can be used to help reduce the spread of infection between individuals during such events."

I thought this was important enough that I wanted to spend some of my food storage money on it.

Bird Flu Pandemic

Last October, in the midst of the stock market crash and the heated election, my Uncle David sent out information about the Bird Flu Pandemic that scientists are starting to warn us about. When I read it, I thought, "Oh Great! Another huge thing to be worried about!"

But since then I have read everything I could read about it. There are plenty of websites devoted to Pandemic Preparation:

PandemicFlu.gov Read the article listed on that page, "What would be the impact of a pandemic?".

The Totally Ready Blog See the list of topics going down the right side of the page and click on "Pandemic" to read all the articles Carolyn Nicolaysen has written.

I like to read about natural disasters, mostly because I want to know who survived and why. I read a book called Natural Disasters that Changed the World, by Rodney Castleden, and at the back he listed the seventy worst natural disasters in history.

Number One: The Toba volcanic eruption, which was way before recorded history.

Number Two: We've all heard of the Black Death in the Middle Ages that killed approximately 100 million people.

Number Three: This shocked me, #3 was the Spanish Influenza pandemic, 1918-1919, which also killed between 20 million and 100 million people. I really didn't understand the magnitude of that pandemic, we never studied it in school. All I knew was that the president of our church, Joseph F. Smith, died and couldn't have a funeral because no public meetings were allowed. In 2006 I read a book about it, The Great Influenza by John M. Barry, but it had completely left my memory. (Note: I will review that book here this week.)

At last count, bird flu (H5N1) has infected 399 people and killed 252 of them, according to a
Reuters story from Jan. 26, 2009. Looks like a pretty high mortality rate to me. I think we better be thinking about this.

What's Josie's Story?

If you've read my former post about Willie Mae running away with J.W. ("Black Sheep in the Family Tree"), you've seen the photo of James Walter Stewart. He was a pretty good-lookin' young man.

Let me tell you a little about his mother, who also had some deep dark secrets. Her name was Marzee Josephine Box, and she is my favorite ancestor. I probably wonder about her more than any of my other ancestors.

Josie was a young teenager in Texas just after the Civil War when she and her family were attacked by Kiowa Indians, her father was scalped, her baby sister Laura was killed, and she and her other sister and Mother were taken prisoner by the Kiowas and held captive for about six months.

They were beaten, even by the squaws, and treated as slaves. Josie was separated from her mother and sister, and tried to run away to get to them, and was caught and her feet burned so she wouldn't run away again.

Anyway, to make a very long story short, the army was finally able to free them. (I have a photo-copy of the women's testimony to the army, telling about their treatment.) They went on with their lives, and later Josie had a son, James Walter Stewart, and died in childbirth.

J.W. was raised by Josie's sister and her husband. J.W.'s aunt and uncle told him that his father was named John Stewart, and that John was killed in a saloon in Silverton, Texas before J.W. was born. My mother loves genealogy, so she researched it and went to that area, and found out there wasn't a town or a saloon there that early. So the relatives made that story up. Apparently, J.W. was illigitimate, but never knew it.

Now that we think Josie wasn't married, I desperately want to know her side of the story. Who was the dad? What was her life like, after going through that horrible experience with the Kiowa Indians? What troubles did she have in life, in the 1870's, being pregnant out of wedlock? And what was she planning to do if she had lived, being single with a baby? Those are all questions I want to ask when I meet her in the spirit world after I die.

Also, an interesting note: If Josie wasn't really married to a man named John Stewart, then our last name was totally made up. I wonder what my last name really should have been?

Black Sheep in the Family Tree

These are my Grandpa Hap's parents. This is Willie Mae Chambless and James Walter Stewart. Willie Mae was married with five (?) children, and ran away with J.W. and had six(?) more children with him. I'm sure it was a scandal in their town, and there were hard feelings from the children she abandoned. My grandpa Hap was their second son together.

I am really curious about these people and wish I could get to know them and find out their side of the story. (Yes, their temple work is done.)

Squatty Body

I am what they call "short waisted", from my waist to my shoulders is proportionally shorter than average. My older sister Cindy called me "Squatty Body".

Here are some more photos of my paternal grandparents, Vinnie and Hap. You will notice that my grandma Vinnie was a bit chunky. I was told my whole life that I had her same body build, so I have always been scared that I am going to turn out shaped like her.

Age Progression- Vinnie and Hap

This is a baby picture of my paternal grandmother, Vinnie Gardner of Snowflake, Arizona. My parents always thought I looked like her as a child.





Above: Here are my grandparents, Vinnie and Hap (Marion Everett Stewart Sr.) before (or soon after?) they were married. (circa 1920's).
Left: Vinnie and Hap in the 1950's.

Wayne's Dream House

I saw this photo spread of Nicola Bulgari's garage in a magazine, (sorry I don't know which magazine.) I was sure that Wayne would absolutely love it, so I took pictures of the pages. (click on photos to make them bigger.)


Bulgari built the garage with a guesthouse above, and each room has a full picture window so the people staying there can look down on all the cars.


Here is the living room. I'm sure if Wayne could, he would move there tomorrow.

Canned Butter, Canned Cheese

I'm sure you saw yesterday's post concerning how much one person needs for one year of food storage. We have a lot of things, but we don't have any butter and cheese stored, we just buy it every week at the store.

I just ordered some of this canned cheese and canned butter, and I hope to tell you later if we like it.

Here is a website describing the butter: http://www.internet-grocer.net/butter.htm


Here is a website describing the cheese: http://www.internet-grocer.net/cheese.htm


We are buying it at a discounted price from the internet price, because we are all buying it in a bulk order.

Women in my stake wrote this about the cheese and butter:

"What are canned cheese and canned butter? Canned butter is just what it sounds like - cream and salt made into butter, put into a can. When you remove the butter from the can, it is just like the butter you buy in the store. Real butter, NOT powdered. It costs more than the store, and it is possible to can it yourself in glass jars cheaper than buying it. Instructions are on the internet. The process requires turning the jars every five minutes for several hours, however, so I personally go with having a machine do it for me. I just know I'll forget. Canned butter is $4.25 per can, which is 3/4 lb, or the equivalent of three sticks of butter. 24 cans per case. $109 per case. Prices include shipping, and are discounted from the internet price.

"Canned Bega / Red Feather cheese - this is also real cheese, NOT powdered. I have several cases of this that I got on clearance last year, and my kids like it a lot. It is a cross between cheddar, American and gouda. It is white in color. You can shred it and put it on your lentil or split pea soup, melt it over pizza, make grilled cheese sandwiches, or whatever with it. $3 per can, slightly larger than a tuna can, weighing 8 oz; 36 cans per case, $100 per case."

"The cans i have had an expiration date on them of about 2 yrs from when i got them but "they" (whoever "they" are) say it will still be good from 10-15 years. the manufacturer has to put a pretty conservative expiration date. as for taste, the butter is just like any butter you buy fresh at the grocery. the cheese is ok; i'd say its very good for canned cheese but i would have to be very hungry to want to eat it plain by itself. still, it's better than powdered cheese by far. i have used it to make mac and cheese and it turned out pretty yummy. even my very picky eating kids ate it up."

I am also going to order "freeze dried grated mozzarella cheese" in a #10 can, that is $25 from Emergency Essentials, in their Group Specials for March 2009. Anybody want to buy some with me? We've got to order a minimum of 6 cans to get the $25 price.

What a Year's Food Storage Looks Like

(Note from Amy: These photos and text came from someone in a ward or stake somewhere that did a food storage display. See note at end.)

Exactly What Does a Basic 1 Year Food Storage for 1 Person Look Like?
These are the MINIMUM Basic Amounts of Food Needed for Survival for ONE PERSON for ONE YEAR: (Click on photos to make them bigger.)




DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU'RE READY TO LIVE ON THESE SURVIVAL RATIONS?











BARE-MINIMUM LDS Church Food storage requirements for
1 adult male for 1 year Appx. 2,300 calories per day. (only 695lbs total)
This will keep you fed, but leave you hungry.
TOTAL FOOD PER DAY = 24.65 Ounces
It seems like we beg, plead, and even offer to help anyone that will listen in an attempt to get others to get their food storage. We try to explain why they need it, and it feels like we are beating a dead horse. Some people try to rationalize that we "really" don't need to store everything that we have been asked to store. As I'm sure most of you have experienced, we hear every excuse for reasons why we can't store. The regular excuses of no money, no room, no time, don't know how to use wheat, or don't eat wheat, etc. But lately, I've heard "that is so much to store", that "our family would never use 400 pounds of grains per person in an entire year". Also, "we don't use that much salt or oil", therefore they don't feel they need to store it.
As what felt like my last feeble attempt to try to help, the thought came to actually create a display to show 1) what does that one year basic survival food for one person look like (the amounts the First Presidency has recommended), and 2) how much does that really work out to be per day?

This display has been amazingly successful in our Stake.

We purposely bought food that they could get at a grocery store, rather than overwhelming them with seeing tons of dry-pack cans or buckets. We broke out each item and gave them the prices of what this would cost locally. We even gave them the price of a shelve to store it on.
When I measured out the amounts to show what you would get per day, per person it was impressive. We took all those ingredients and by adding yeast (which we know is not on the basic list – but hopefully we have stored), we were able to make one loaf of bread and 1/3 cup of beans. That would be your food for the entire day. Not much. You would survive, but it won't be pretty.
Grains (400lbs)
Unless your family already eats 100% whole wheat homemade bread, white flour should be used in the transition process to whole wheat.
Adding rye flour (10%) helps make wheat bread a more
complete protein. Dent corn is used to make tortillas.

Beans & Legumes (90lbs)
{minimum reduced to only 60lbs in 2002}
Black beans cook quickly, make a good salad complement with a vinaigrette dressing over them.
Soybeans can be used to make soy milk and tofu, a protein food you should be prepared to make.
Familiarize yourself with sprouting techniques.
Learn how to make wheat grass juice - the best vitamin supplement you can use.
Milk-Dair products (75lbs)
{minimum reduced to only 16lbs in 2002}
Milk powder can be used to make cottage cheese, cream cheese and hard cheeses.
Ideally your milk should be fortified with Vitamins A & D.
When reconstituting aerate to improve flavor (special mixing pitchers can accomplish this). Whole eggs are the best all-purpose egg product.
Powdered sour cream has a limited shelf life unless frozen.
Meats / Meat substitute (20lbs)
{minimum reduced to only 0lbs in 2002}
Use meat in soups, stews and beans for flavor. Freeze dried is the best option for real meat. Textured Vegetable protein is the main alternative to freeze dried meats.
Fats / Oils (20lbs)
This group can boost the calories one is getting from food storage products, and supply essential fatty acids.
Sugars (60lbs)
Store your honey in 5 gallon pails.
Candy and other sweets can help with appetite fatigue.

Fruits / Vegetables (90lbs)
{minimum reduced to only zero lbs in 2002}
Some fruits and vegetables are best dehydrated, others freeze dried (strawberries & blueberries).
Fruits are a nice addition to hot cereal, muffins, pancakes and breads.
Auxiliary foods (weight varies)
Vanilla extract improves the flavor of powdered milk. T
he production of tofu requires a precipitator such as nigari, epsom salt, calcium chloride or calcium sulfide (good calcium source).
Learn how to make and use wheat gluten (liquid smoke adds good flavor).

Chocolate syrup and powdered drink mixes help with appetite fatigue.
Vitamins and protein powders will boost the nutrition levels of foods that may have suffered losses during processing.


Note
For an average adult Female - multiply the weight by 0.75
For children ages 1-3 multiply by 0.3, 4-6 multiply by 0.5, 7-9 multiply by 0.75
For adults engaged in manual labor multiply by 1.25-1.50


(Note from Amy: My sister forwarded these photos and this text to me. I emailed a note back to the originating person to get her permission to post this. When I find out who that is, I will credit her or take this off my blog and direct you to hers, if she has one.)

Protest "Big Love"

I just made a phone call to HBO protesting their upcoming episode of "Big Love", to be aired Sunday Mar. 15. The current TV Guide has a full-length photo of an actress wearing complete temple clothing, with the following text under the photo:

Big Love, Sunday
“Goin’ to the Chapel’
It’s one thing for Bill and Barb Henrickson’s inner circle to know they have two other wives at home…but letting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in on the secret? That’s a whole other story, “It’s almost a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” says executive producer Mark Olsen. Their under-the-radar status will change this week when Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) faces the consequences of breaking the rules and is called to an excommunication hearing.

“We researched it out the wazoo,” says Olsen, who along with executive producer Will Scheffer hired an ex-Mormon consultant to help the set and wardrobe designers re-create even the tiniest details. “We go into the endowment room and the celestial room (areas of the temple”, and we present what happens in those ceremonies. That’s never been shown on television before,” says Olsen. Adds Scheffer, “But it’s not for shock value. It’s really a very important part of the story.”

The decision won’t be without controversy; According to a church insider, “If they are in fact trying to emulate those rooms in any way, that would be extremely offensive. The general public is not allowed in our temples yet. Not even all Mormons are. We consider them very, very, sacred.” Heaven help us.----Rachael D. Thomas. Page 46, TVGUIDEMAGAZINE

I am so outraged. I phoned HBO and I told them they must have zero respect for our religion to be able to feel free to mop the floor with our most sacred beliefs. I said that there is no way that they would do something like that to the Islam faith, because some Muslim leader would probably announce a death sentence on them. But the executives at HBO don't care a thing about our feelings, or feel any obligation to show any respect to things that are sacred to us. What a company full of jerks.

The woman I spoke to said she had only been on the job an hour today and had already received 9 phone calls. Please add to that number! HBO Consumer Affairs Dept. 212-512-1208 M-F Eastern time.

Click HERE to send them an email.

Here is the Church's official statement about this TV show: Click here.

Crockpot Pork Roast and Gravy

I HATE trying new recipes. It is my worst thing ever. I never ever do it, because the food never turns out. The only way I get recipes is by tasting something at someone's house or a party, and then asking for the recipe. So I am shocked that I tried this recipe from the Reader's Digest. (I had a pork roast, and was going to cook it anyway, and had all the ingredients, so it was pretty much a miracle.) This recipe is much better than the way I used to do a pork roast in the oven, so I will throw away that old recipe.



Crockpot Pork Roast and Gravy
(From Reader’s Digest, March 3/09, p. 181)

1 boneless whole pork loin roast (3-4 lbs.)
1 can (14 ½ oz.) chicken broth (or 2 cups water and 2 chicken boullion cubes)
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Put pork into the crockpot, combine all ingredients in a bowl, then pour over the pork. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

I cooked potatoes in another crock pot but next time I will put them in with this, I can’t give you instructions until I try it.

For Gravy:

2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. cold water

Strain cooking juices and skim fat; pour 1 cup into small saucepan. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.

THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!

Wayne's Favorites

Our ward asked us these questions and put it on the ward website so people could get to know us.


Name: Wayne
Birthday: Dec 24
Favorite sports team = Duke Blue Devils basketball
color = purple

scripture = Moroni Chapter 7 - the whole chapter.
I especially like the early parts of the chapter that discuss the source of good and evil and how to tell the difference. But, the discussion on Faith, Hope and Charity is marvelous.

quote = "Life is hard. Then you die" David Gerrold.
Believe it or not, I'm an optimist. I use this phrase to meet the challenges of life.
When things don't go the way I planned, I remind myself that I wasn't promised that life would be easy. Only that it would be worth it. Rather than feel picked on, I pick myself up off and move forward. Then hopefully, when it is time to move the next phase of my existence, I'll be ready.

food = Grilled salmon with bernaise sauce (on my own grill with my own sauce)

band/music = classic Cat Stevens

Mission - Bolivia 1975 - 1977 speaking both Spanish and Aymara (an native language)

1st kiss! Amy and I had our first date in Janurary 1980 to the Osmond's concert in Provo, UT.
We had our first kiss on Valentine's Day after the ward dance.
We had our first conversation about marriage on Feb 22nd.
We were officially engaged on March 1st.
And, we were married on June 21st of the same year.
29 years, 17 cars, 6 children, 4 houses, and 2 grand children later, we are still together and loving it!

What is your 5 min pick me upper?
Chocolate. Most any kind will do, but mint chocolate is the best.

Do you have facebook, Ipod-mp3 player, WII? Yes, yes & yes

Hobbies through the years,
Mountain biking, rock climbing, camping, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, sailing, photography, guitar, volleyball, reading, music, movies, TV.

Amy's Favorites

Our ward asked us these questions and put it on the ward website so people could get to know us.


Name: Amy
Birthday: April 23

Favorite sports team: I care nothing for sports. I never even know what season it is.

Favorite scripture: Adam fell that men might be, and men are, that they might have joy. 2 Nephi 2:25.

Favorite quotes:
"It has changed my life to have children. It has made me poorer and more confused."

"If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead." Neal A. Maxwell, April 1974.

"The purpose of life is to matter---to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that we lived at all." Leo Rosten

Favorite food- My favorite dessert is a brownie with vanilla icecream with hot fudge sauce. Favorite main dish is about any kind of “chicken with pasta”. Favorite sodapop is Root Beer. Favorite candy is KitKat or SugarBabies.

Favorite band/music: If my list on itunes is any indication, I have the most songs from the Beatles, Alan Jackson, and the Dixie Chicks.

First kiss- on Valentine's Day, engaged on Mar. 1, married on June 21, 1980.

What is your 5 min pick-me-upper? My favorite thing is to go into my sewing room and just fiddle around with fabric, putting fabrics together and seeing what new quilt I can make. Five minutes playing in there does me a world of good.

Do you have facebook, Ipod-mp3 player, WII? I love my ipod shuffle, I have a blog and website but no facebook, and we have a Wii but I've never even touched it.

Hobbies through the years- I started sewing clothing when I was 12, and sewed extensively all through high school and college. When I had 4 little boys in a row, I switched to making quilts because sewing clothes for boys was boring. I became a quilting instructor about 10 years ago, and changed my focus from "hobby" to "business" and travelled all over the nation teaching quilting at quilt guilds for about 7 years. Now I am too busy teaching early morning seminary, so I am on sabbatical from my business for a couple of years. However, now I am sewing as a hobby again, and really enjoying it.

Another great hobby of mine is reading non-fiction, I have delved into some subjects very deeply, such as the Civil War, World Wars 1 and 2, natural disasters and calamities and the last days, LDS books, the Beatles, and (when I was younger) motherhood and parenting skills.

I also enjoy writing. I have kept a daily diary since 1971, and in 1981 wrote my life story up to that time. (Now I am overdue for writing Part 2). I have had two friends die, and have written both their life stories as well, and given them to their families.

No Peanuts, No Veggies, Jim Cramer

I get up at 5 am every morning to get ready for seminary, and since Wayne leaves home at 3:45 am to get to IBM by 4 am I can have the radio on full blast in the bathroom.

The radio station I listen to has the Agriculture News on every morning at that time. It has been fascinating to hear what the farmers know. For instance, did you know that the big salmonella scare in peanut products was linked to only one company (Peanut Corporation of America), and that the rest are fine? Jif and big peanut distributors like that had nothing to do with it, so peanut products coming from those are perfectly safe. (see the recall list HERE.)

However, because the public got scared and stopped buying peanut products, that has caused havoc amongst the peanut farmers. They don't know whether to plant this year or not. The news story this morning was that most farmers still haven't decided to plant peanuts, and it is getting pretty late in the season to be making that decision, since they still have to buy fertilizer, etc. So I would say we better buy all our peanut butter for food storage, since the price might go sky high soon.

I am also now fully aware of the drought in California. California grows one-sixth of the nation's produce, but look at their water situation:

"The US Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water allocation in arid regions, announced last week it will not provide vital irrigation to Central Valley farmers this year because of drought, and the California State Water Project expects to meet only 15 percent of water requests." (for full article, click HERE)

So what is that going to do to the availability and the price of fruits and vegetables? I have high hopes to begin my own small garden soon and I hope that will start our family on the path of growing more of our own food instead of ZERO.

I truly believe that we are living in the last days, prophecies are starting to be fulfilled all around us, and we need to follow our latter-day prophets and get our food storage and gardens and savings. Hard times are upon us and may get much worse.

I highly recommend the Totally Ready blog, it covers all these kinds of subjects.



(BEWARE: POLITICS BELOW)
I swore that I wouldn't discuss politics on this blog. I am a very strong conservative, and agree with Rush Limbaugh and Ronald Reagan. But I have some very dear friends and relatives that have opposing views. So I am going to withhold saying anything, but I will put this link on if anyone wants to read it.
It is an article by Jim Cramer: "My Response to the White House", on why he disagrees with what Obama is doing with the economy. Cramer is a financial analyst for the stock market on CNBC and elsewhere. Interestingly enough, Cramer is a Democrat. Click HERE to read his article.

Wayne's cousin Ashlee

Every day while I was teaching at the MidAtlantic Quilt Festival last week, Wayne was free to drive around and see the sights. One day he toured Jamestown, and another day he went to the beach.

On Friday evening after my class, Wayne and I drove to Portsmouth to visit his cousin Ashlee and her husband Dave. (I thought her son Kaden looked just like Tyson!) We've only seen Ashlee once since they moved to Virginia five years ago. They took us out to dinner and it was great visiting with them.

I told Ashlee how much we owe her for babysitting Adam when he was a baby. Without exception, every time she babysat him he threw up all over her, projectile vomiting. She deserves a gold medal for how much she served us back then when she was a young teenager and we lived in Layton.

My New Fabric, Dr. Suess Furniture

Wayne and I went to the MidAtlantic Quilt Festival last week, where I taught three all-day quilting classes and he was my "roadie", helping me carry suitcases and set up my classrooms every day.
















During my lunch break and after class each day I loved shopping in the merchant's mall, where I bought LOTS of new fabric. Here is a chair in our hotel room completely covered with the pieces of fabric. (You can tell I don't like pale or muddy colors. Look at the cute cupcakes and umbrellas and even the Beatles! )

We stayed at the Embassy Suites, and I loved the decor. The lobbies had this great furniture that looked like Dr. Suess. I want some furniture like this!

Teaching at MidAtlantic Quilt Festival 2009

Last week Wayne and I drove to Hampton, VA where I was an instructor at the MidAtlantic Quilt Festival. I taught 3 full-day classes to about 21 women per day: "Playtime Neighborhood in Fusible Applique", "Finishing Touches: Borders, Bindings, and Embellishments", and "Crooked Log Cabin for the Precision Impaired". (The photos here are from the "Crooked Log Cabin" class.")

I had a really good time but was always really tired from being on my feet all day. Wayne was a great helper, it is my first teaching trip to have him come along on. (I said he was my "roadie" and also my "groupie".) It was my second time to teach at MidAtlantic Quilt Festival, but I have been going there as a customer for more than 10 years.

Below are two photos of some women in my class "Crooked Log Cabin for the Precision Impaired" with the little quilt tops they completed during that day. You can see some of my quilts hanging on the classroom walls behind them.

Writing Life Story #5

(A page from my life story Amy Book I.
Here are some other things you can include in a life story:

Time line
Important documents- significant letters, baptismal certificate, marriage certificate, etc.
Genealogy family group sheets, pedigree chart

Record answers to prayer or miracles.
Record courtship.
Gratitude for blessings

Common everyday things: Prices, popular songs, movie titles, first pushbutton phone, drive in movies, first cell phone, first time to buy a computer,
National, world, local news.

Facts about your life: school name, teachers names, your age, your typical daily schedule, your address and phone number, your weight

Write it now while details are still fresh and available.

If handwriting, use ink. One of my diaries fell in the washing machine once, and completely fell apart, but I can still read the ink.

Journal and life story are written for different reasons. Ezra Taft Benson- 10 pages on genealogy sheets. Spencer W. Kimball wrote 78 journals, and biography.

Its never too late to start keeping records. You will be glad for every word you write.



"I personally believe that the writing of personal and family histories will do more to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children than almost anything we can do. I am sure you will never turn your own children’s hearts more to you than you will by keeping a journal and writing your personal history. They will ultimately love to find out about your successes and your failures and your peculiarities. It will tell them a lot about themselves, too. They will get a great desire to raise a family of their own when they see what a great blessings they were to you."
Hartman Rector Jr.

"A birth certificate proves you were born, but a personal history proves that you really lived."
George D. Durrant

Writing Life Stories #4

Here are some more odds and ends about writing your life story:

Sacred experiences gain validity by being recorded.

If a man keeps no diary, the path crumbles away behind him as his feet leave it; and days gone by are but little more than a blank, broken by a few distorted shadows. His life is all confined within the limits of today…
Deseret News, July 16, 1862.

Every man is a diary in which he means to write one story and writes another, and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.
James M. Barrie


Orson Pratt said, “How many people have been miraculously healed, and yet no one has recorded the circumstances? How many personal revelations have been received or prophecies given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost , but not recorded…Every case of healing and every miracle which Jesus shall perform through any of his children should be faithfully recorded.”

Wilford Woodruff said, “If the power and blessings of God are made manifest…you should make a record of it. Keep an account of the dealings of God with you daily. I have written all the blessings I have received and I would not take gold for them.
Wilford Woodruff diary, 6 Sept. 1856.

People often use the excuse that their lives are uneventful and nobody would be interested in what they have done. But I promise you that if you will keep your journals and records they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to your children, your grandchildren, and others, on through the generations.
--President Spencer W. Kimball


What would you want your children to know about you? Major Jay Hess, who spent 5 ½ years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was only allowed to write six lines to his family. His first letter home said, “Above all I seek for eternal life for all of you. These are important: temple marriage, missionary, college. Press on.”

Jesus said to record the prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite 3 Nephi 23: 7-13. How would you feel if the Savior saw your record?